Secret Service - the Making of the British Intelligence Community, Christopher Andrew

Secret Service - the Making of the British Intelligence Community, Christopher Andrew

This is a serious and detailed book on the history of the British Intelligence Services. Stretching to over 700 pages it is far from a casual read and a class apart from the paperback sensationalist books normally seen on the subject.

Carefully researched by Dr Andrew Christopher it mixes detailed history with a wry look at some of the less than glorious past failures. Written in 1999 it is a historical book and those looking for analysis of recent events and the war on terror should look elsewhere, that said it is important to see how the British intelligence services evolved.

The first half of the book looks at the service pre 1924 from its Victorian origins to early attempts at dealing with Soviet Russia. It is not till Chapter 13 that the book looks at the Nazi period and the run up to the Second World War and it has scant detail on any post war operations. For the serious student of intelligence studies this is a must read and well worth ploughing through.